"We do not know what's in the car. And we're not going to know what's in the car until we get it out of the water," Christianson said.

Rescuers were waiting for water levels in the canal to recede before beginning the delicate operation of extracting the Toyota.

Jose Rodriguez, 27, is suspected of snatching his ex-girlfriend's son, Juliani Cardenas, from the arms of the boy's grandmother on Jan. 18.

During a briefing for reporters, Christianson said he feared the worst.

"We're certainly saddened by the fact that we found the car even though we knew we would," he said. "As these days have progressed, we knew that the likelihood of bringing little Juliani home alive was diminishing exponentially."

Divers searched the canal for a week after receiving a tip about a car heading into the water. Almost every day brought the discovery of another vehicle in the waterway.